Our Staff
He was born in England and moved to Australia with his family in 1969. David grew up in Glen Waverley & went to school at Mount View primary school & then Glen Waverley High School. He graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1986 with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science with honours.
David has worked his entire career in large, veterinary practices in the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne, more specifically Brandon Park Veterinary Hospital & the Monash Veterinary Clinic. The large case load at these practices has enabled David to build extensive experience as a small animal general practitioner. Although David enjoys all aspects of small animal Veterinary practice his areas of expertise & passion include surgery, lameness diagnosis, oncology & reproduction.
David thoroughly enjoys the relationships he has built with many long term clients and their pets at the Forest Hill Veterinary Hospital. It is these relationships & the immense satisfaction that comes with helping to improve the quality of life of his patients that he loves most about being a vet!
When David is not at the practice his spare time is fully occupied with his family – his wife Deirdre & his three children, James, Thomas & Ruby.
His passions outside of veterinary practice are surfing, fishing, scuba diving & cheering on his beloved Richmond Tigers football club. On the back of a very successful 2017 campaign let’s hope the Tigers can do it again in 2018!
David is seen pictured with his fur children; Missoni & Marzi the Miniature Schauzers, he also has 2 cheeky Burmese cats Mojo & Mim to complete the fur family!
After working at the RSPCA for 13 years, he wanted to join a smaller more family orientated veterinary hospital so that he could develop closer patient and client relationships.
Leslie was born in East London, a small coastal city in South Africa and graduated in 1988 from Pretoria University with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science degree. After graduating he completed 2 years of conscripted army service where he served as a veterinarian looking after military horses and dogs. He started in small animal private practice for a couple of years before going back to University to complete an honors degree in wildlife management. After a few locum opportunities to take care of birds and wildlife Leslie started working at the Johannesburg zoo full time where he remained until the family made the decision to emigrate to Australia.
After arriving in Australia Leslie started work at the RSPCA where he settled in to small animal veterinary practice and became acutely aware of animal welfare issues that still, unfortunately, persist in our society. He does still, on occasion, get to do a weekend shift at Werribee Open Range Zoo.
Leslie’s leisure time is mostly spent with the family including 3 dogs, a terrier cross and two Irish terriers. He enjoys birdwatching in the great outdoors, gardening, kayaking and fishing.
We are really pleased to have Dr Elisa on the team. Not only is she a lovely person, she is immensely passionate about looking after your pets! Dr Elisa loves a challenging case and thrives when investigating complicated medical conundrums. When not fixing your dogs and cats, Dr Elisa loves hiking, yoga and reading.
Dr Elisa is pictured here with much loved cat Frisbee who has recently been treated for acute renal failure and is thriving, all because of Dr Elisa’s healing hands! Squeaker, Dr Elisa’s Kelpie X is not pictured as he was too fast for our photographer!
Dr Elisa will be working part time over the next few years whilst she is studying medicine at Monash University. Yes that’s right Elisa is training to become a human doctor.
Donna is a senior Veterinary nurse at our hospital. She is the heart & soul of the Forest Hill Veterinary Hospital. Nothing is too hard for Donna to achieve. She will go out of her way to solve your problem. She adds a breath of fresh air whenever she walks in the room! Always smiling & laughing – the life of the party!
Donna is another passionate Collingwood supporter – Black & White through & through!
Donna is pictured here with her much loved senior cat Tally. She also has a much loved male Domest Long Haired cat, Panda who was hand-raised by Donna and of course formed a permanent member of her family!
Georgia has been part of the Forest Hill Veterinary Hospital team since 2011 and completed her Cerficate IV In Veterinary Nursing in 2013. She is currently completing her professional dog trainer qualification through Delta Institute. Along-side her study and Nursing duties, Georgia is our Puppy Pre-School trainer and has a special interest in companion animal behaviour and conditioning. She also has a special interest in Rabbits and other small animals.
Georgia shares her busy life with her 8 year-old Beagle X Pug Tilli and two indoor Mini Lop Rabbits, Bonnie and Rambo that run the house!
Having worked at an equine veterinary hospital, thoroughbred stud and warm blood stud for many years, Heather decided it was time for a change. This is when she pursued a career in small animal veterinary nursing. She loves her job and enjoys the fulfillment of being a vet nurse, where every day brings a new challenge, and every day she can help a fury friend.
Heather not only has a passion for horses and enjoys riding and training in her spare time, she also adores her beloved cat Tammy. A domestic short hair cat, she adopted from the cat protection society. Tammy is the most spoiled and loved cat you will ever meet. She waits by the door for Heather to come home every day, and welcomes her home with a kiss (lick) on the cheek.
Heather completed her certificate 4 in Veterinary Nursing in 2014 with her ultimate ambition to complete the Diploma in Veterinary nursing. On a personal note, Heather is a passionate, dedicated and hard working individual who will always go that extra mile for you and your best friend!
Heather is the happiest and most positive person you will ever meet! She is a joy to have around.
Tanya became a fully qualified veterinary nurse in 2012 .
Tanya grew up with a huge variety of pets including dogs, cats, fish, turkeys, chickens, ducks, cockatiels, budgies, rabbits, blue tongue lizards & bearded dragons.
Tanya would bring home any orphan she could find often sneaking them into school so she could feed them through the day.
Tanya has an incredibly mischievous Pugalier called Mia who has an extensive medical history including nostril surgery, patella surgery, exploratory laparotomy surgery to remove an ingested collar (her own!), bee stings just to name a few! Mia is an all round excitable, accident prone 100 miles an hour kind of dog! Never a dull moment with Mia!
Tanya also has a blue eyed, white cat named Bowie who is completely deaf & loves trying to keep up with Mia. He is a very chilled character and is extremely affectionate. He does tend to have a loud voice like a lot of deaf cats do as they cannot hear themselves.
Tanya’s most memorable experiences have been at the Elephant nature park in Chiang Mai Thailand where she has volunteered twice. The park rescues abused and neglected elephants from all over Thailand. The park has a volunteer program where participants are involved in feeding, bathing & cleaning up after the elephants whilst learning about their husbandry & behaviour.
Tanya perfect holiday includes a Pina Colada, a beach & plenty of sunshine!
Tammy works part time through the week which suits her busy family life which involves running around after her two gorgeous daughters, husband and menagerie of pets. With her wealth of experience and knowledge you are in good hands when Tammy is looking after you.
Tammy is pictured here with her Blue point Ragdoll named Tommy. Tammy also has Panda the exceptionally cheeky 12 month old female Staffy and has recently taken on a little female rescue kitten called Dotti! Tammy is another passionate
Cassie has always wanted to pursue veterinary nursing as a career. She grew up rescuing animals in and caring for a variety of pets including fish, mice, hermit crabs and budgies. Now at home she has her special boy, Henry the Miniature Poodle as well as Maisie, a cheeky tabby and white Domestic Short Hair that she hand raised at FHVH from 3 weeks old. Maisie is the sister of Donna’s Panda! Maisie is a little accident prone and consequently has a slightly shorter than normal tail! She managed to somehow get it caught in a closing door – ouch!
Cassie is very passionate about the rights of all animals big and small and is always trying to be a voice for the animals. Before starting here at the Hospital, Cassie volunteered at the Australian Animal Protection Society in Keysborough. Cassie has a particular soft spot for all of the wildlife we see so often here and she thoroughly enjoys providing advice to help your animal lose those few extra kilos in our free weight consultations.
Outside of work, Cassie enjoys practicing yoga, reading and travelling when she can!
Nina has a beautiful Pomeranian cross dog named Mindy who is a gentle old soul that loves nothing better than to be by her side. Not only does Nina care for small animals but she has had the pleasure of working with Koalas in fertility control as part of a forest conservation project.
Emily has a little terrier cross named Harry born in 2014 whom she adopted from a shelter. He loves a good cuddle and some rough play time. She also loves caring for wildlife and has an interest in exotic pets and hopes to study further in this field.
She would love to volunteer overseas by helping with the medical care of African wild life or dogs rescues programs in Thailand.
Emily has been a great addition to the team and is a fun person to have in the work place.
Sally does amazing dog grooms! She can help your pooch with anything from a bath and tidy up to a breed specific clip. Not only do her dogs look beautiful after a groom but they also smell great. Sally is more than happy to have chat with you when you drop off your pup with regards to how you would like them groomed and any other specific requirements. She has groomed all breeds of dogs big & small and is also happy to groom cats. Sally’s grooms are booked on the hour so your dog doesn’t have to sit waiting before or after their groom. If you have any questions about grooming or would like to chat to Sally about your needs please don’t hesitate to give us a call.
In her spare time Sally loves to keep fit and active! She rides her bike in long distance events and even participates in European cycle events that run over 4 days.
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Our highly regarded Hospital has been established for 35 years and we pride ourselves on providing our clients and their pets with the very best Veterinary experience to be found.
The Forest Hill Veterinary Clinic, as it was originally called, was founded in 1975 and operated for many years as a single vet practice. The Forest Hill Veterinary Clinic was purchased by Dr David Margary in 1995. In 2008 the small clinic underwent extensive modernisation & extension works to transform it into the state of the art Veterinary Hospital it is today. Our new facility has enabled us to provide better services for our existing clients in a comfortable modern setting and to cater for the needs of our expanding practice well into the future.
We have a dedicated team of 5 Veterinarians and 6 Veterinary nurses that are constantly striving to provide the best care for you and your best friend.
The Veterinary practice follows a simple philosophy; that we will go that extra mile for our clients and their best friends. Our clients are our friends! Together we will work towards enabling your fur buddies to live long and healthy lives!
We are all animal lovers and understand the fantastic bond that develops between a pet and its owner. It is an absolute privilege to be a part of this relationship.
We are always happy to help solve your pet related problems. You can call and speak to our Veterinarians and Veterinary Nurses at any time.
Come and give us a try. You won’t be disappointed!
